- Daniel Couto brings 30 years of drug development expertise to drive the growth of Telum Therapeutics and its pipeline.
- Telum Therapeutics uses synthetic biology and machine learning tools to develop new phage-derived lytic enzymes to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- In 2019, antimicrobial resistance killed 1.27 million people, more than HIV and malaria.
Pamplona, Spain, December 7th 2022.- Telum Therapeutics announced today that Mr. Daniel Couto has been designated to its Board of Directors as an independent director. With this appointment, the company incorporates Couto‘s 30 years of experience in drug development to fight against antibiotic resistance, one of the biggest threats to global health.
Telum Therapeutics specializes in the use of Engineered Phage Endolysins as new antimicrobial products. «Lysins are enzymes produced by bacteriophage viruses to kill bacteria by degrading their cell wall. It is personally fulfilling to share my specific knowledge of lysins, acquired after 5 years at ContraFect Corp, and my 30 years of drug development experience, to advance this up-and-coming class of molecules», says Couto. «I am also looking forward to working with the management team to aid the progress of Telum Therapeutics and its pipeline. As a member of the Board, I will contribute to the strategic and tactical direction of the company. Furthermore, I will be leveraging my experience in chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) to help Telum Therapeutics bring forward its novel candidate molecules to patient benefit».
Mr. Couto is Chief Operating Officer at Vedanta Biosciences Inc. Prior to his position at ContraFect Corp, he was Vice President of Commercial Manufacturing Operations at Merck Sharp & Dohme Biologics UK, Head of Commercial Business Development at Avecia Biologics, Director of Manufacturing at Nuvelo, Director of Technical Operations at Genzyme Transgenics Corporation and Vice President and Founder at Advanced Biosystems.
«We are delighted to welcome Mr. Daniel Couto as a new independent director to our Board of Directors», states Roberto Díez, CEO of Telum Therapeutics. «Mr. Couto has an outstanding track record of research and development in the broad protein sector, including antimicrobial compounds and their production. He will be an invaluable addition to our team to grow strategically and reach the market with the greatest of success and the least of risks».
Telum Therapeutics builds its pipeline on the APEX platform under Trade secret protection. APEX uses synthetic biology tools together with machine learning to design engineered endolysins composed of different activity modules of natural endolysins, in order to potentiate its efficacy against bacteria and fight antibiotic resistance. According to a study published by The Lancet, in 2019, 1.27 million deaths were attributable directly to antimicrobial resistance. This death toll exceeds that of HIV and malaria, which accounted for more than 800,000 and 500,000 deaths, respectively.
About Telum Therapeutics
Founded in Navarra in 2019, by Roberto Díez and Rubén Díez, Telum Therapeutics SL is a global drug discovery biotechnology company that develops new treatments for infectious diseases based on the use of lytic enzymes from bacteriophages, called enzybiotics. In 2020, the company raised €4.1 million in its first round of financing from Invivo Ventures, and the co-investment of Clave Capital and CDTI-Innvierte.
For further information
Roberto Díez, CEO of Telum Therapeutics
Telum Therapeutics
+34 660 164 975
rdiez@telumtx.com
